How To: Remove Stitch Marks from Fabric

With The Refashioners 2015 juuuuust around the corner,  and this years community challenge running in parallel, there may be just a few people this August refashioning shirts! I thought, what better time to share this little technique  for getting rid of stitch marks! The kind you get when you unpick a hem or  dart, or remove a pocket.; and simple pressing just isn’t cutting it.  Welll…it is possible to minimise and, in some cases, completely remove those marks. It’s not a complete cure in all cases  as it depends on a few different factors. BUT, I think you’ll agree from the before and after shots, it’s worth a try, right?

Here’s what I’m talking about. This is a piece of cotton fabric where I was trying out some Sashiko embroidery. Wasn’t happy with it, so unpicked it in order to start again. One problem….stitch marks!! (I’m using this as a sample for this how to as the weave is larger and easier to photograph, but this applies to machine and hand stitching alike.)

Here it is after a simple press. Better. But not great! What happens with holes is the weft and warp threads of the fabric get moved out of alignment as the needle passes through the fabric and they stay that way even once the thread is removed. If you look closely at the first two pics (tap to enlarge and zoom in) you can see the individual threads are skewed around the stitch holes.

Now for the secret to erasing those stitch marks! Use your nail…

…or a spoon. With a firm pressure appropriate to the sturdiness of your fabric, drag it across the weft (left to right then right to left) and the warp of the fabric (up and down) Press with steam and repeat 2 to 3 times.

See the difference? The repeated dragging action manipulates those warp and weft threads back into place and the steam fixes them there. Clever huh? But we’re not quite done…

Flip the fabric over and repeat on the other side. Drag your nail/spoon across left and right, then up and down then press with steam…

All done!

Quite a difference huh? This technique will work on most wovens to a greater or lesser degree depending on two factors. The fineness and weave of the fabric itself AND how long those stitches have been in there. In some instances the fabric will be too delicate or the stitches will have been in too long (I’m talking existing garments type long!) for this to be completely effective. BUT in a lot of cases this will help erase all memories of that bodged stitching (we all bodge seams right?!) so no-one will ever know 😉